He’s a Hollywood Star’s Brother and the Dad Who ‘Abandoned’ His Daughter at 7 Months – Who Is This 1980s Heartthrob

Born April 18, 1956, in Biloxi, Mississippi, Eric Roberts honed his craft in New York theater, earning a Theatre World Award for “Burn This.” His film breakthrough came with a Golden Globe-nominated role in “King of the Gypsies” (1978). The ’80s cemented his stardom: Oscar nod for “Runaway Train” (1985), Golden Globes for “Star 80” (1983). Versatile credits span “The Specialist” (1994), “Final Analysis” (1992), Sundance winners like “It’s My Party” (1996), blockbusters “The Dark Knight” (2008), “The Expendables” (2010), “Inherent Vice” (2014), and TV hits “Heroes,” “Suits,” “CSI.” Recent roles include “Head Full of Honey,” “Hard Luck Love Song,” “La Reina del Sur.”

Behind success, personal struggles loom—especially with daughter Emma Roberts and sister Julia Roberts, both stars he claims he launched via William Morris agency. “If it wasn’t for me, there would be no Julia Roberts and no Emma Roberts,” he once boasted, later apologizing in memoir “Runaway Train” as “asinine.”